lemon poppyseed yeast pancakes
i don’t know what’s being stirred in my coffee, but so far, without fail, i’ve been craving pancakes for breakfast every single morning here in paris. it’s been more than two weeks! i thought that i’d revel in all of the wonderful breakfast pastries here in paris, but nope. your girl wants a healthy serving of fluffy and hearty pancakes soaked with maple syrup.
i sat at my desk at work wondering if i could tap into a mcdonald’s for a quick fix, but guess what…mcdonald’s in paris doesn’t serve pancakes for breakfast. why?!
i did some deep research and apparently there are american diners and hip brunch spots that serve pancakes here and there but i really couldn’t be bothered to hop into a taxi or a train to get some dang pancakes.
knowing that it would be cheaper and easier if i just made my own, off i went to the local market. mind you, i still don’t know how to read things properly in french so i purchased yeast instead of baking powder. “levure de boulanger” in my mind translated to “raise the bread” and bread is baking so “raising for baking”!!! it must be baking powder.
i should have known when the packaging was in a box that was the perfect size to hold a few yeast sachets vs your standard aluminum can. if you’re reading this, you’re welcome to do a sarcastic genius slow clap for me.
ok great, so back to the story: i still really wanted pancakes. and now i had a new obstacle: making pancakes with yeast as the raising agent. is that even possible? will it come out like donuts? or like fried bread? i took my best guess and hey! they turned out fluffy but a bit more dense than regular pancakes! the batter btw was a bit clingy so you won’t get a perfect shape, but it’s ok, you don’t have ig worthy pancakes all the time. right?
and just an fyi, the russians have make pancakes called oladi using the yeast from yogurt (kefir) from the beginning of time, so feel affirmed that this freak yeast translation accident was the universe’s way of introducing me to russian pancakes.
and btw, maple syrup is nowhere to be found here. and unfortunately, you can’t really substitute the silky toasted nutty taste of maple syrup with any freak accident no matter how hard you try to make something work. especially if your pathetic attempt is to melt down a store bought caramel sauce. * cringing that i actually did this *
i really am shaking my head at my failed attempt to make something as simple as pancakes with syrup in paris, but i am telling you, it was a challenge.
you can use this recipe if you intentionally or curiously want to make fluffy yet dense pancakes using yeast…or if you ran out of baking powder and only have yeast on hand.
but i’m warning you, it won’t be the same without real maple syrup. and you may be pancake-frustrated until you have the real thing (case in point). so friends and loved ones, if you know of any place to purchase maple syrup here in paris, please give this desperate american girl a holler.
xo,
christine
lemon poppyseed yeast pancakes
ingredients
2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cups granulated sugar
2 teaspoons salt
1 tablespoon dry active yeast
2 eggs whisked
1 1/2 cups almond milk
3/4 cups melted butter
zest of 2 lemons
2 tablespoon poppyseeds
combine all dry ingredients into a mixing bowl: flour, sugar, salt, yeast
combine all wet ingredients in a medium bowl, whisk until combined: eggs, almond milk, butter
whisk in wet ingredients into the dry ingredients until thoroughly combined and flour clumps are gone
toss in zest and poppyseeds and mix until evenly incorporated
cover batter and let it sit out for 45 minutes
in a buttered griddle or pan set to medium heat, using a ladle, drop a dollop (~3/4 cup) of batter onto the center and spread out as flat as possible.
once bubbles have floated to the top of the pancake, flip. add a little more butter to the pan if needed
enjoy with maple syrup, not melted caramel sauce
